Metabolic syndrome in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: prevalence, characteristics and predictors.

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in women with polycystic ovary syndrome, as well as its characteristics and predictors. Seventh-three women, with body mass index of 30.4 +/- 7.8 kg/m2 and 25.0 +/- 6.0 years old, subdivided according to body mass index, were studied retrospectively. There was no significant mean age difference among body mass index groups (p = 0.228). Prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 38.4%, with a null prevalence for normal (n = 18), 23.8% for overweight (n = 17), 62.9% for obese (n = 28), and 85.5% for morbidly obese women (n = 7). Women with metabolic syndrome were older than women without metabolic syndrome (27.3 +/- 5.3 vs. 24.2 +/- 4.6 vs. years old; p = 0.031) and presented a higher body mass index (36.3 +/- 7.7 vs. 26.9 +/- 5.4; p < 0.001). There was no difference for degree of hirsutism and menstrual patterns between women with and without metabolic syndrome (p = 0.593 and p = 0.119, respectively). Regarding laboratory parameters, DHEAS was lower (1,646 +/- 1,007 vs. 2,594 +/- 1,563; p = 0.007) and HOMA-IR were higher (9.9 +/- 9.7 vs. 4.6 +/- 4.7; p = 0.004) in women with metabolic syndrome (p = 0.031 and p < 0.001, respectively). The best predictors of metabolic syndrome were waist circumference > 88 cm, HDL-cholesterol < 50 mg/dL and triglycerides >or= 150 mg/dL.